WWE Royal Rumble 2025 predictions, card, matches, start time, PPV preview, location, date, expert picks

WrestleMania season kicks off on Saturday when WWE brings the Royal Rumble to Indianapolis. The event is one of the most anticipated yearly WWE events and this year is no different.

As is the standard, there will be a men’s and a women’s Royal Rumble match on the card, with the winners being able to challenge any champion for their title at WrestleMania, which takes place on April 19 and 20 in Las Vegas. 

To win the match you must be the last person still in the ring after all other competitors have been tossed over the top rope and hit the floor with both feet.

This year’s men’s Royal Rumble is expected to have plenty of drama and surprises. Among those confirmed as entrants are John Cena, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre and more. But there are still 15 slots that are to be determined and WWE CCO Paul Levesque said you can expect plenty of wildness on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium. 

“I’m thinking about the Royal Rumble,” Levesque said at the Royal Rumble kickoff on Friday. “It makes me think, just about anybody could enter the Royal Rumble as a surprise. [Turns to Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton] You got a minute?” 

The women’s Rumble match will also have plenty of both, and even more given that only 10 entrants have been announced. But among the most notable is the return of Charlotte Flair after more than a year away to recover from a nasty knee injury.

There are only two matches beyond the Rumbles on the card for Saturday, but they are sure to deliver the excitement. WWE undisputed champion Cody Rhodes puts his title on the line against friend turned foe Kevin Owens in a ladder match. Plus, the WWE tag team championships are on the line when titleholders #DIY take on Motor City Machine Guns in a two-out-of-three falls match.

Let’s take a look at who the CBS Sports experts are picking to win in each match on Saturday’s card, beginning at 6 p.m. ET.

WWE Royal Rumble 2024 predictions

Men’s Royal Rumble Match: I felt somewhat certain that John Cena would win the Rumble until Monday night. CM Punk’s confrontation with Cody Rhodes sparked something that made it clear Punk vs. Rhodes is the story WWE should be telling as much as possible. Of course, there’s also just the fact that momentum has completely stalled out for Cena when his big return for his last run started with a somewhat awkward promo on Jan. 6 and he has been nonexistent since. Sure, he could still win the Rumble and go on to up his appearances between the Rumble and WrestleMania, but his absence has killed my interest while Rhodes and Punk have me excited. I think WWE wants to play into the classic rivalry between Punk and Cena and the match likely comes down to those two men at the end but give me Punk to get the win and Cena to punch his own ticket at Elimination Chamber — a complete reversal of what I predicted just a few weeks ago. Pick: CM Punk wins the Royal Rumble — Brent Brookhouse

I woke up this morning believing Cena would win the Rumble, but I’m having second thoughts. A straight shot to WrestleMania is too convenient for the down-on-his-luck veteran seeking glory one last time. Orton isn’t advertised for the Rumble, but I suspect he’ll pull out a surprise victory to set up a showdown with Rhodes at WrestleMania. Orton won’t tie Cena’s world title record, but he can tie “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s three Rumble wins. Pick: Randy Orton wins the Royal Rumble — Shakiel Mahjouri

Women’s Royal Rumble Match: Charlotte Flair is such an easy plug-and-play option for the biggest WrestleMania matches that it’s hard not to pick her to win here. The inevitable match with Tiffany Stratton also makes too much sense to pass up. Stratton vs. Flair feels like a potential passing of the torch moment, even if Flair will be around for as long as she wants. They’re similar enough wrestlers while separated enough by the eras in which they entered the game to provide plenty of compelling storytelling before a tremendous WrestleMania match. Pick: Charlotte Flair wins the Royal Rumble — Brookhouse

There aren’t many standouts among this year’s women’s Rumble participants. Booking Flair opposite Tiffany Stratton for WrestleMania is a great way to boost Stratton’s profile. Flair can be trusted to deliver in big matches, so she might just return from injury victorious. Pick: Charlotte Flair wins the Royal Rumble — Mahjouri

Undisputed WWE Championship — Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Kevin Owens (Ladder Match): I hope Owens pulls off the upset. It’s a compelling twist in the story, plus it’d be rough to see Owens lose in three consecutive undisputed WWE title matches. WWE is committed to Rhodes as champion. While I don’t think it’d hurt him to lose and reclaim the title between now and WrestleMania, I suspect WWE takes the safe route by keeping the title on him. Pick: Cody Rhodes retains the title — Mahjouri

Since it doesn’t really matter to be right or wrong when predicting wrestling matches — and if you’re betting on scripted entertainment you’re braver than I am — I was going to pick this one with my heart instead of my head. WWE has only dipped into the title loss before quickly regaining the title once with major titles recently, when Jey Uso won the intercontinental title from Bron Breakker before Breakker won it back less than a month later. It’s good to see lengthy title reigns in WWE again, but sometimes there should be a bit more drama via a feeling of unpredictability. From that view, Owens should win on Saturday with Rhodes grabbing the title back ahead of WrestleMania. A ladder match provides enough escape hatches for that loss to come cheaply through outside interference. That said, that approach isn’t really how Paul Levesque has booked major titles and Punk’s interaction with Rhodes on Monday focused on how the pressure of being champion will continue to wear Rhodes down until he finally breaks at WrestleMania. You don’t have that interaction and wipe that story away less than a week later. Pick: Cody Rhodes retains the title — Brookhouse

WWE Tag Team Championship — #DIY (c) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match): It’s too soon to take the titles off #DIY. Kudos to WWE for giving two world-class tag teams ample time to show what they can do. Expect the Motor City Machine Guns to look strong but drop the last fall by nefarious means. Pick: #DIY retain the titles — Mahjouri

I agree with the logic that WWE won’t rip the titles away from #DIY this soon but I am very excited to see what these two teams can do in a two-out-of-three falls set-up. Pretty Deadly likely gets involved to tilt things in the champions’ favor in the third fall. Regardless of if the outcome feels predictable, this is going to be a tremendous match between two accomplished tag teams. Pick: #DIY retain the titles — Brookhouse